jamesfredley opened a new issue, #16128:
URL: https://github.com/apache/grails-core/issues/16128
### Summary
Any Grails 7 plugin that ships a Groovy `@Immutable` class compiled with
Groovy 4 fails at runtime on Grails 8 with `NoClassDefFoundError:
org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil`. Groovy 4's `@Immutable` AST
transformation emits calls to
`org.apache.groovy.runtime.ObjectUtil.cloneObject(Object)` for defensive
copying, and that class was removed in Groovy 5.
The plugin resolves, compiles, loads, and boots. The failure only appears
when the affected class is actually constructed, so a smoke test that merely
starts the application will pass.
Found while auditing released Grails 7 plugins against `8.0.0-M5`, using
`io.github.matrei:grails-inertia:3.0.0` (latest release, catalog constraint
`7.0.0 > *`).
### Grails Version
8.0.0-M5 (Groovy 5.0.8, Spring Boot 4.1.0, Spring Framework 7.0.8, JDK
21.0.11)
### Steps to Reproduce
In a stock `create-app --profile=web` application on 8.0.0-M5:
```groovy
implementation "io.github.matrei:grails-inertia:3.0.0"
```
Complete the plugin's documented client setup (`npm install && npm run
build`, which produces the Vite manifest the plugin requires outside
development), add a controller action that calls the plugin's documented
`renderInertia(...)`, then issue a real request:
```text
GET /inertia-probe with header X-Inertia: true
```
### Actual Behaviour
The application starts normally - `Tomcat started on port 54517`, and the
plugin appears in the load order as `inertia (3.0.0)`. The request returns HTTP
500:
```text
jakarta.servlet.ServletException: Handler dispatch failed:
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil
at
org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet.doDispatch(DispatcherServlet.java:978)
...
at grails.plugin.inertia.InertiaPage.<init>(InertiaPage.groovy)
at grails.plugin.inertia.Inertia.createJsonModel(Inertia.groovy:148)
at grails.plugin.inertia.InertiaTrait$Trait$Helper.renderInertia(...)
```
### Root Cause
`org.apache.groovy.runtime.ObjectUtil` exists in Groovy 4 and is gone in
Groovy 5. Verified directly against the jars on the resolved classpath:
```text
groovy-4.0.32.jar : org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil.class present = True
groovy-5.0.8.jar : org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil.class present =
False
groovy-3.0.25.jar : org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil.class present =
False
```
The plugin's `InertiaPage` is a Groovy immutable class - its constant pool
carries `groovy.transform.KnownImmutable` and a call to
`org.codehaus.groovy.transform.ImmutableASTTransformation.checkPropNames`:
```text
#13 = Utf8 Lgroovy/transform/KnownImmutable;
#145 = Utf8 org/codehaus/groovy/transform/ImmutableASTTransformation
41: invokestatic #150 //
ImmutableASTTransformation.checkPropNames:(Ljava/lang/Object;Ljava/util/Map;)V
```
and the Groovy 4 `@Immutable` transformation compiled **22** defensive-copy
call sites into that single class:
```text
77: invokestatic #68 // Method
org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil.cloneObject:(Ljava/lang/Object;)Ljava/lang/Object;
87: invokestatic #68 // Method
org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil.cloneObject:(Ljava/lang/Object;)Ljava/lang/Object;
102: invokestatic #68 // Method
org/apache/groovy/runtime/ObjectUtil.cloneObject:(Ljava/lang/Object;)Ljava/lang/Object;
... (22 total)
```
Every one of those `invokestatic` targets is missing at runtime under Groovy
5, so constructing the class throws.
### Expected Behaviour
At minimum this belongs in the Grails 8 upgrade guide's Groovy 5 section: a
Groovy 4-compiled `@Immutable` class cannot run on Groovy 5 and must be
recompiled. Because the emitted call sites are generated by the AST
transformation rather than written by the author, nothing in the plugin's
source hints at the dependency, and there is no build-time signal.
### Why this is worth tracking here
The trigger is a plain, idiomatic Groovy annotation, not an exotic API:
- `@Immutable` is ordinary Groovy used widely for value/DTO types.
- The failure survives dependency resolution, compilation, plugin load, and
application startup.
- The error names a Groovy internal class and gives no indication that an
`@Immutable` class or a stale plugin is responsible.
- It only surfaces when that class is instantiated, so it can hide behind
untested code paths.
This is the third distinct Groovy 4 -> 5 binary break found in this sweep,
after #16123 (generic trait with fields) and #16126 (AST transformation
targeting a private trait method). Together they suggest the upgrade guide
would benefit from a consolidated "Groovy 4-compiled plugins can fail at
runtime" section, since all three pass every build-time check.
### Distinct from previously reported issues
Not #16122 (Metadata dynamic key access), #16123 (`$Trait$FieldHelper` /
`MalformedParameterizedTypeException`), #16124 (partial Jackson 2 classpath),
#16125 (pre-Apache `org.grails` coordinates), #16126 (private trait method lost
by an AST transformation), or #16127 (Spring 7 `HttpHeaders` no longer
implementing `MultiValueMap`). This one is a removed Groovy runtime class
referenced by `@Immutable`-generated code.
### Notes
Part of a compatibility sweep of released Grails 7 plugins against 8.0.0-M5.
In the same sweep `cloud.wondrify:i18n-asset-pipeline-grails:5.2.0-M1`,
`cloud.wondrify:karman-grails:3.0.6`, and
`io.github.gpc:phone-number-constraint:2.0.0` passed verification against their
documented public APIs.
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